23 March 2008

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

19 March 2008

I spent the last few days of my Winter Break staying with a friend named Joel in Minneapolis, MN. Although many of my friends from the Twin Cities have graduated and moved away, I enjoyed spending a lot of time with the few who still remained or happened to be back in town at the same time. It was by far the most relaxing part of my trip, and I felt very refreshed and ready to return to research by the time I left on Jan. 3.

Joel had recently purchased a new 52" plasma screen TV, and we both spent a good deal of time enjoying it. Although he had a wide array of channels available through his cable provider, I spent most of my TV-watching time watching C-SPAN (primary converge), the Discovery Channel (Myth Busters marathon), and Cartoon Network (Futurama marathon). I realized I had been watching C-SPAN for two too long when I saw a campaign speech by Bill Richardson twice. We also watched a few DVDs, including his new Danger Mouse DVD collection and part of the anime series Ergo Proxy.

We organized a small New Year's Eve Party at his house.

Joel is in the background in this photograph. Our friend Ruth is playing Guitar Hero against him.

I could offer the real and sensible explanation for this photograph, but I think leaving it to the reader's imagination will be much more amusing.

This is Lance; he is the same person lying on the couch in the photograph above. Here, he is playing a game intended to measure one's "mental age."

Relevant Quotes

"This is what the LORD says: 'If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time…If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant'" - Jeremiah 33:20, 25-26 (NIV)

"It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out."- Proverbs 25:2 (ESV)

"The scientific ethos, moreover, is...the will to be obedient to the truth, and, as such, it embodies an attitude which belongs to the essential decisions of the Christian spirit." - Pope Benedict XVI